Zur Signalverarbeitung im elektrischen Empfangsorgan des schwachelektrischen Fisches Gnathonemus petersii (Mormyriformes,Teleostei)

Zusammenfassung Wenn der schwachelektrische Fisch Gnathonemus petersii mit Hilfe seines elektrischen Organs eine Änderung seiner Umgebung bemerkt, reagiert er durch Erhöhung seiner Sendefrequenz. Diese Reaktion erfolgt dann, wenn eine gewisse Anzahl N von Elektrorezeptoren überschwellig gereizt wird, wobei es auf die relative Lage der gereizten Rezeptoren zueinander innerhalb der untersuchten Gebiete nicht ankommt und es auf die Zahl N keinen Einfluß hat, ob die Rezeptoren schwach oder stark überschwellig gereizt werden (s. Abb. 5). Bei der Detektion sind wahrscheinlich die sog. Knollenorgane, ein bestimmter Typ von Elektrorezeptoren, maßgeblich beteiligt. In einem Dressurexperiment wird geprüft, ob Gnathonemus außer der Information über die Zahl der gereizten Elektrorezeptoren auch die Information über ihre Lage nutzt: Gnathonemus kann zwei in der örtlichen Verteilung auf der Fischoberfläche verschiedene Signale weitgehend unabhängig von deren Amplitude unterscheiden.

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Signal processing in the receptor system of the weakly electric fish Gnathonemus petersii (Mormyriformes, teleostei, pisces)

Summary The weakly electric fish Gnathonemus petersii increases the discharge frequency of its electric organ if it detects a change in its environment. This reaction appears if a number N of electroreceptors is stimulated above the threshold. The number N is not dependent upon the relative position of the stimulated receptors (within the investigated area) nor upon the degree to which the stimulus is raised above the threshold (see Fig. 5). Probably one class of electroreceptors, the so-called Knollenorgane, play a decisive role in detection. By means of a training experiment it was determined that Gnathonemus is able to distinguish between two signals which differ in their spatial distribution on the surface of the fish. This ability is largely independent of the magnitude of the signals.

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Der Verfasser dankt dem Bundesministerium der Verteidigung für die Bereitstellung der Mittel für diese Untersuchungen.     

Der Einfluß der Umweltfaktoren auf das Wachstum und den Häutungsrhythmus der StrandkrabbeCarcinides maenas

Zusammenfassung 1. Junge Strandkrabben von 4–16 mm Carapaxbreite wurden bis zur Geschlechtsreife unter konstanten Umweltbedingungen aufgezogen.2. Die Dauer ihrer Häutungsintervalle nimmt bei konstanter Temperatur mit der Körpergröße stetig zu.3. Die Dauer der Häutungsintervalle hängt von der Temperatur und der Ernährung ab. Von der Tageslänge scheint sie weitgehend unabhängig zu sein.4. Der relative Grösßenzuwachs bei jeder Häutung ist im gesamten untersuchten Größenbereich und bei den verschiedenen Temperaturen bei allen Häutungen gleich: Bei den Häutungen verdoppelt sich jeweils das Körpervolumen.5. Augenstielamputationen und Verlust von Extremitäten wirken auf den Häutungsrhythmus in gleicher Weise: Die Schwankungsbreite in der Dauer der Häutungsintervalle ist vermindert. Die Häutungsintervalle sind in 20° C deutlich, in 10° C nur geringfügig verkürzt.6. Durch die Anwesenheit größerer Artgenossen werden die Häutungen verzögert. Die optische Wahrnehmung spielt dabei keine Rolle.7. Aus diesen Ergebnissen wird folgendes geschlossen: Der ausschlaggebende Faktor für die Auslösung von Häutungen ist ein bestimmter Größenzuwachs. Temperatur und Ernährung beeinflussen den Häutungsrhythmus dadurch, daß sie das Tempo des Wachstums bestimmen. Die winterliche Häutungsruhe in Freilandpopulationen wird nicht durch den Kurztag bedingt, sondern durch die Kälte. Diese hemmt lediglich das Wachstum, sie verhindert nicht die Häutungen über das häutungshemmende Hormon. Dieses vermindert vielmehr die Temperaturabhängigkeit des Häutungsrhythmus, indem es die Häutungen im Warmen stärker verzögert als im Kalten. Es gestattet die Anpassung des Häutungstermins an die individuelle Lage der Tiere. Es hemmt in Anwesenheit größerer Artgenossen die Häutung. Beim Verlust mehrerer Gliedmaßen wird seine Sekretion eingestellt, so daß die nächste Häutung vorzeitig erfolgt. Das häutungshemmende Hormon bedingt dementsprechend die große individuelle Variation in der Dauer der Häutungsintervalle.

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The effect of environmental factors on growth and moulting rhythm in the shore crab,Carcinides maenas

Young crabs (carapace width 4 to 16 mm) were raised under controlled conditions in the laboratory. The time intervals between subsequent moults increase at all test temperatures with increasing body size. The length of intermoult periods varies with temperature and feeding. It is not affected by day length. Moulting takes place as soon as a certain increase in size is attained. In comparable size groups, the amount of this increase is identical in all test temperatures. Moreover, the relation of increase to initial size is constant over the whole size range investigated. The body volume doubles at each moult. Eyestalk amputations and loss of extremities have similar effects: They shorten the intermoult periods at 20° C considerably, but at 10° C they do so only slightly; furthermore, the amplitude of fluctuations is narrowed. The presence of large specimens tends to retard moulting in smaller ones; this response is independent of visual stimuli. The following assumptions are made: Low temperatures retard the moulting rhythm directly by slowing down growth. They are not acting via the moult inhibiting hormone. Loss of several extremities causes a stop of hormone delivery resulting in shortened intermoult periods. Recognition by touch of a larger specimen causes increased hormone delivery and thus retardation of the subsequent moulting process.

     

Century-scale Methylome Stability in a Recently Diverged Arabidopsis thaliana Lineage

There has been much excitement about the possibility that exposure to specific environments can induce an ecological memory in the form of whole-sale, genome-wide epigenetic changes that are maintained over many generations. In the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, numerous heritable DNA methylation differences have been identified in greenhouse-grown isogenic lines, but it remains unknown how natural, highly variable environments affect the rate and spectrum of such changes. Here we present detailed methylome analyses in a geographically dispersed A. thaliana population that constitutes a collection of near-isogenic lines, diverged for at least a century from a common ancestor. Methylome variation largely reflected genetic distance, and was in many aspects similar to that of lines raised in uniform conditions. Thus, even when plants are grown in varying and diverse natural sites, genome-wide epigenetic variation accumulates mostly in a clock-like manner, and epigenetic divergence thus parallels the pattern of genome-wide DNA sequence divergence.     

Isolation and partial characterization of basic proteinases from stem bromelain

Crude bromelain extracts from pineapple stems (Ananas comosus) were fractionated by two-step FPLC-cation-exchange chromatography. At least eight basic proteolytically active components were detected. The two main components F4 and F5 together with the most active proteinase fraction F9 were characterized by SDS-PAGE, mass spectroscopy, multizonal cathodal electrophoresis, partial amino acid sequence, and monosaccharide composition analysis. F9 amounts to about 2% of the total protein and has a 15 times higher specific activity against the substratel-pyroglutamyl-l-phenylanalyl-l-leucine-p-nitroanilide (PFLNA) than the main component F4. The molecular masses of F4, F5, and F9 were determined to 24,397, 24,472, and 23,427, respectively, by mass spectroscopy. Partial N-terminal amino acid sequence analysis (20 amino acids) revealed that F9 differs from the determined sequence of F4 and F5 by an exchange at position 10 (tyrosineserine) and position 20 (asparagine glycine). F4 and F5 contained fucose, N-acetylglucosamine, xylose, and mannose in ratio of 1.02.01.02.0, but only 50% of the proteins seem to be glycosylated, whereas F9 was found to be unglycosylated. Polyclonal antibodies (IgG) against F9 detected F4 and F5 with tenfold reduced reactivity. ThepH optimum of F4 and F5 was betweenpH4.0 and 4.5 and for F9 close to neutralpH. The kinetic parameters for PFLNA hydrolysis were similar for F4 (K _m 2.30 mM,k _cat 0.87 sec^–1 and F5 (K _m 2.42 mM,k _cat 0.68 sec^–1), and differed greatly from F9 (K _m 0.40 mM,k _cat 3.94 sec^–1).Dedicated to H. Tschesche, Bielefeld, Germany, on behalf of his 60th anniversary.     

Synergistic Impact of Solvent and Polymer Additives on the Film Formation of Small Molecule Blend Films for Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cells

The addition of polystyrene (PS), a typical insulator, is empirically shown to increase the power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of a solution‐deposited bulk heterojunction (BHJ) molecular blend film used in solar cell fabrication: p‐DTS(FBTTh₂)₂/PC₇₁BM. The performance is further improved by small quantities of diiodooctane (DIO), an established solvent additive. In this study, how the addition of PS and DIO affects the film formation of this bulk heterojunction blend film are probed via in situ monitoring of absorbance, thickness, and crystallinity. PS and DIO additives are shown to promote donor crystallite formation on different time scales and through different mechanisms. PS‐containing films retain chlorobenzene solvent, extending evaporation time and promoting phase separation earlier in the casting process. This extended time is insufficient to attain the morphology for optimal PCE results before the film sets. Here is where the presence of DIO comes into play: its low vapor pressure further extends the time scale of film evolution and allows for crystalline rearrangement of the donor phase long after casting, ultimately leading to the best BHJ organization.     

Evolution of the S-locus region in Arabidopsis relatives

The S locus, a single polymorphic locus, is responsible for self-incompatibility (SI) in the Brassicaceae family and many related plant families. Despite its importance, our knowledge of S-locus evolution is largely restricted to the causal genes encoding the S-locus receptor kinase (SRK) receptor and S-locus cysteine-rich protein (SCR) ligand of the SI system. Here, we present high-quality sequences of the genomic region of six S-locus haplotypes: Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana; one haplotype), Arabidopsis lyrata (four haplotypes), and Capsella rubella (one haplotype). We compared these with reference S-locus haplotypes of the self-compatible Arabidopsis and its SI congener A. lyrata. We subsequently reconstructed the likely genomic organization of the S locus in the most recent common ancestor of Arabidopsis and Capsella. As previously reported, the two SI-determining genes, SCR and SRK, showed a pattern of coevolution. In addition, consistent with previous studies, we found that duplication, gene conversion, and positive selection have been important factors in the evolution of these two genes and appear to contribute to the generation of new recognition specificities. Intriguingly, the inactive pseudo-S-locus haplotype in the self-compatible species C. rubella is likely to be an old S-locus haplotype that only very recently became fixed when C. rubella split off from its SI ancestor, Capsella grandiflora.     

LRP6 Enhances Glucose Metabolism by Promoting TCF7L2-Dependent Insulin Receptor Expression and IGF Receptor Stabilization in Humans

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Highlights? Nondiabetic LRP6 mutation carriers are hyperinsulinemic and insulin resistant ? IR expression is reduced in skeletal muscles of the LRP6 mutation carriers ? Wnt/LRP6 regulate the insulin receptor and IGFR expression ? The LRP6 mutation reduces TCF7L2-dependent IR expression and enhances mTOR activity